Mexico January 20,2008

[Indianajim]

Anyone who missed the Amigos Mexico Cruise like to join me for

January 20, 2008 Vision of the Seas round trip from Los Angeles

Cabo..Mazatlan... Puerto Vallarta

Have found a rate of $890 per person Plus $159 port Charges and $43.60 fees

interested ?

Jim

 

[Lady Jag]

Sorry, can't go then, but just thought you might want to mention what type of cabin category that price is for. :lol I assume it's a balcony cabin, but I'm sure others might want to know exactly which category.

That's usually a hit or miss time of year to cruise as far as Southern California weather. We either get lots of sun & warm temps. or a few days of rain.

In Mexico, it should be a perfect time to go!! Enjoy!!

 

[Indianajim]

Here is the Cabin info:

Inside $400 Ocean view $490 Balcony $890

Rates due not include port charges of $159 pp and government fees of $43.60 pp

Jim

 

[lelms]

Sorry we are going on the same cruise Jan. 27, 2008.
Have a great cruise.

We are on the East Coast and never been to Los Angeles. Does anyone know of any good hotels near the port? Also how is traffic in LA we are wondering if we should rent a car or just cab it.

Thanks

 

[BruinSteve]

...and we're on the same cruise March 16, 2008...

lelms,

I take it that you want to be near the port because you're only coming in the day before and want convenience? If you were staying longer and wanted to see LA, I'd recommend you stay in Santa Monica or elsewhere on the West Side, not near the port...

There are only two really good hotels immediately in the vicinity of the port--the Crowne Plaza San Pedro and the Doubletree San Pedro...the other options NEAR, but not immediately near the port are to stay on the other side of the harbor in Long Beach--Hyatt, Westin, Renaissance, Hilton, Courtyard or Coast...

Long Beach puts you a short cavb ride from the pier in Pedro, but has more restaurants and things to see and do convenient to the hotels...the Aquarium, the Queen Mary, Shoreline Village, etc...and it has a free shuttle system around the downtown tourist area...

San Pedro is a more blue-collar industrial town, but extremely convenient to the RCCL pier...The hotels, I believe, will shuttle you to the pier for free (One restaurant recommendation in San Pedro is the Acapulco--right on the waterfront, just a short ways down from the dock) ...

Traffic in LA can be intimidating to the outsider...If you are planning on stayiong awhile and want to visit Hollywood, Universal, Disney, Beverly Hills, the Getty, Venice Boardwalk, Malibu, etc., a rental car is highly recommended...but, if all you are doing is LAX to harbor-area hotel, hotel to ship and ship to LAX, I'd stick with a shuttle LAX to Pedro and Pedro to LAX and use taxis only if you need them locally (say you're stayning in Pedro, but want to go over to Long Beach to poke around and have a really nice dinner at Parker's Lighthouse or other LB eateries...

Good luck...

 

[lelms]

Thanks for the great Info. We are actually coming to LA 3 days early. Plan to do Disney, Hollywood and whatever else time will permit. Hubby is dreading the driving in LA. LOL Being from the South we aren't used to all that. We will probably leave LAX and stay someplace near Disney. Is traffic bad that way?

Again Thank you so much.

 

[BruinSteve]

This is LA...Traffic is bad in all kinds of ways you can't imagine...
I have no problem with it...But I've been driving in it all my life...

Disney is actually quite a ways away from most of the things to see and do in the LA area...And Anaheim is not my favorite of locations...About the only reason to stay there is if Disney is the main focus of your visit...If you're visiting the parks for multiple days and are only driving LAX to Disney, Disney to the pier, it's okay...

If Disney is just one day and you're doing other things, you may want to reconsider. You can stay in Long Beach or San Pedro and just drive to Disney and back one day, drive up to Hollywood and the West Side on another--and probably get a nicer hotel at a lesser price that way...and a little less driving the day of the cruise...

For multiple days, I still like Santa Monica as there's a lot more to see and do and eat and shop up there and the neighborhood is oh so much nicer...(Of course if Disney is the prime concern, Santa Monica is way accross town)...

I guess what I'm saying is that it all depends on how you want to distribute your time...What you want to see...

As to driving in LA, it's really not that bad...just long distances and a lot of cars. The freeway system is really good--it just gets congested at times...One recommendation: Do you own a portable GPS system (Something like a Garmin Nuvi)? If not, some rental car agencies will rent them with the car...

Good luck...

 

[lelms]

Great info. THANK YOU SOOOOOOO MUCH. I actually got a great deal on Hotwire on a room at the Crowne Plaza at the cruiseport 70% off. We are going to get a rental car and we do have a GPS. I hope the operator of the GPS does better this time. LOL Last time we went to Nashville, TN and got lost for hours or so it seemed. Your help is greatly appreciated.